Although the muzzle loading rifle is a weapon of the past, such weapons continue to be in use because the hunting laws of numerous states provide for longer hunting seasons for hunters using bows and arrows and muzzle loading rifles than for modern repeater rifles. As a result, it is desirable to provide a rifle which loads through the muzzle so as to comply with the applicable state hunting laws, but incorporates safety features, and can be easily and safely loaded, primed and cocked.
To fire such weapons, it is necessary that an ignition system be provided which responds to a hammer and ignites a charge of gun powder to propel a bullet from the weapon. The existing muzzle loading weapons have an external retainer upon which a firing cap is positioned and a bore extending from the retainer to the breach of the weapon. To load such weapons, gunpowder is poured into the barrel and some of the gunpowder also fills the small bore leading to the cap retainer. A firing cap is then positioned in the retainer and is struck by the hammer when the weapon is fired.
If too much gun powder is poured into the barrel of such weapons, the subsequent firing of the weapon may cause damage to the weapon, and may cause injury to the users, for example, by causing the hammer to be propelled backward toward the user. If the weapon is excessively overloaded, the breach or barrel of the weapon may explode when the weapon is fired.
It would be desirable to provide a muzzle loading weapon with an enclosed hammer so as to not injure a user if the hammer is propelled backward as the result of firing an overloaded weapon. It would also be desirable to provide a muzzle loading weapon which will exhaust the gasses within the weapon which results from firing it while overloaded and thereby avoid serious damage to the weapon or injury to the user.